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25 states consider 'Penn State' bills

Glenn Thompson said he's proud the community has stepped up 'to put children first.' | AP Photo

Pennsylvania State Rep. Todd Stephens, the prime sponsor of H.B. 2169, which was introduced last week, said the Penn State scandal was an eye-opener for lawmakers about the need to take a second look at the state’s child abuse reporting requirements.

“We need to require anybody who witnesses crime occurring to a child to report it to law enforcement, that penalties for failing to report is tougher and that the statute of limitations is sufficiently lengthened,” he said.

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Stephens, who was formerly the head of the sex crimes unit for Montgomery County district attorney’s office, said he has long been aware of the importance of adults speaking out on behalf of vulnerable children.

“It’s very difficult for children to come forward when they are victims of abuse,” he said. “When adults walk in on a child being abused in the shower and they are under no obligation to notify law enforcement themselves, I became troubled.”

Other states where bills have been introduced on the reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect include California, Florida, Hawaii, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Washington.

Abuse prevention organizations are commending the nationwide effort to improve these laws.

“My hope would be that if something good could come out of such a tragedy, it’s people realizing that this is a real problem in our society. It’s not isolated, it doesn’t just happen in someone else’s neighborhood or state – that it’s pervasive,” said Shannon Waters Russell, a therapist at the Child Abuse Prevention Association. “It does need to be kept at the forefront of people’s minds, and we have to be educated to prevent abuse.”

Rep. Glenn Thompson, a Penn State alum whose 5th District in Pennsylvania includes the college campus, said he is glad to know that the tragedy that shocked his community has sent a larger message to the rest of the country about the importance of prioritizing the safety of children.

“Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a significant event like [this] to encourage lawmakers to review what’s out there and make sure that it’s effective and being complied with,” he said in an interview. “I’ve been very proud of that community, how they’ve stepped up and reacted to put children first, above all else. … The community has been very proactive in saying this is not acceptable, that our children should always be protected.”

Readers' Comments (6)

Most college sports programs are given a distorted importance in relation to the academic world they are supposed to represent. Penn State - as we find out more and more about this shocking COVER UP - was the poster child of this perceived importance.

In the wake of the child sexual abuse scandal at Penn State University that rocked the nation, lawmakers in dozens of states across the country have introduced bills to increase the reporting of child abuse and neglect.

What is wrong with our Educational systems that has to be told and or written into law that Child molesting is wrong! Our our schools that out of whack? WE, the people certainly have a lot of heavy duty House Cleaning to do! Corruption seems to be our major product in the public sector.

It's pretty sad when you have to pass a law just to get people to make a phone call when know a child is being molested. There was a time when people would drag someone into the street and beat them to death over stuff like this. How far we have fallen...

Why is the media still not reporting the truth in this matter? That one of the men to whom Paterno reported, that "top official" they refer to, was Gary Schultz, the highest police authority on the Penn State campus? In Schultz's recent hearing that bound him over for trial, the retired chief of the University Park Police, a fully armed police department with all the authority of any municipal police department, testified that in 2002 he and Schultz had regular communications, and that Schultz was, indeed, his boss. So Paterno not only reported to his boss, AD Curley, but also to Gary Schultz, the highest police authority on the Penn State campus, with every expectation that they would do the job entrusted to them by Penn State University and take the matter up with state authorities. They failed in their duty, but why is the media still referring to Schultz as just a "top official" when that makes it look like "Paterno didn't go to the police", when just the opposite is true? Just because Gary Schultz didn't carry a gun doesn't negate the fact that court testimony has proven he was the highest police authority on the Penn State campus in 2002.